In this issue:
- Special Member Update: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application Period Now Open
- Application Period for National Junior Firefighter Scholarship and Grant Program Now Open
- Senate Passage of E-9-1-1 Bill Sets Stage for Final Passage
- NVFC Urges Members to Thank Their Elected Representatives For Supporting Volunteer Initiatives
- Department of Justice Makes More Hometown Heroes PSOB Awards
- Calendar of Events
- Support Those Who Support the Voice of the Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services
Special Member Update: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application Period Now Open
The Department of Homeland Security's Grant Programs Directorate is now accepting applications for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG). The deadline for receipt of the applications is April 4, 2008, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The AFG, which will be distributed in phases throughout FY 2008, will ultimately award approximately $500 million. Interested applicants can access the FY 2008 AFG application through the AFG web site (www.firegrantsupport.com), the U.S. Fire Administration's web site (www.usfa.fema.gov) and the Grants.gov web site (www.grants.gov). Read full article.
Application Period for National Junior Firefighter Scholarship and Grant Program Now Open
Applications Due May 15
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) is now accepting applications for the National Junior Firefighter Scholarship and Grant Program, sponsored by Dunkin’ Brands Community Foundation. Ten $5,000 scholarships will be awarded to junior firefighters nationwide who demonstrate commitment and dedication to their local junior firefighter program and the fire service. In addition, the departments of each of the winning students will receive a grant of $5,000. The application and criteria for the competitive scholarships are available on the NVFC web site at www.nvfc.org/juniors. Applications must be received by May 15.
Department members and junior firefighter program coordinators are encouraged to inform their department’s junior members about this new opportunity. Scholarships can be applied to a two- or four-year institution of higher learning, a trade school, or a certification program. The corresponding grants to departments must be used to benefit the departments’ junior firefighter program.
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Be a senior in high school, or a high school graduate within the past three (3) years, who is enrolled or will be enrolled in the Fall 2008 school year at an accredited two- or four-year institution of higher learning, a trade school, or a certification program.
- Be a past or current junior firefighter in a department that is registered with the NVFC National Junior Firefighter Program. If your program is not currently registered, the department can do so for free at www.nvfc.org/juniors.
- Have proven to be an active and vital member of a junior firefighter program for at least one year and currently be active in the department either as a junior firefighter or in some other capacity.
- Have demonstrated intent to pursue emergency services.
- Describe extracurricular involvement.
Learn more about the criteria and application process, and download the application at www.nvfc.org/juniors. The scholarships and grants will be awarded during Firehouse Expo in July.
The NVFC National Junior Firefighter Program helps fire and EMS organizations nationwide develop, grow, and promote local programs that encourage youth participation in the fire and emergency services. In addition, youth can use the Program to find out how to join a local fire, rescue, or EMS organization, keep track of their hours of service, and earn exciting rewards after spending a set number of hours helping their department. The Program is supported by the Dunkin’ Brands Community Foundation and Spartan Motors, Inc.
Senate Passage of E-9-1-1 Bill Sets Stage for Final Passage
On February 27, the Senate passed the IP-Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safety Act (S. 428). Similar legislation, the 911 Modernization Act (H.R. 3403), passed the House last November.
S. 428 and H.R. 3403 facilitate the incorporation of emerging technologies into the 9-1-1 emergency system to help make it available and reliable for all Americans. Both bills would require internet phone service or voice-over internet protocol (VOIP) providers to connect to 9-1-1 and E-9-1-1 in accordance with FCC rules governing phone service providers. The National Volunteer Fire Council has expressed concern over provisions in past versions of this legislation that would have allowed VOIP providers to begin offering service without enabling 9-1-1.
S. 428 and H.R. 3403 address the increasing need for E-9-1-1 to be deployed for all technologies, appropriate liability protections for 9-1-1 telecommunicators and service providers, and the need for sufficient funding for the current system and for IP-based Next Generation 9-1-1 initiatives. The House and Senate are in the process of appointing conferees to negotiate bill language for final passage.
NVFC Urges Members to Thank Their Elected Representatives For Supporting Volunteer Initiatives
In less than a month, the NVFC Board of Directors will converge in Washington, DC, for the NVFC’s spring meeting, which is being held in conjunction with the Congressional Fire Services Institute’s (CFSI’s) 20th Annual Fire and Emergency Services Dinner. NVFC members take this opportunity to meet with their U.S. Representatives and Senators to alert them to the needs of the volunteer fire and emergency services and ask them to support the NVFC’s legislative priorities.
While requesting assistance is important – elected officials won’t know what we need unless we ask for it – so is expressing appreciation for the support that Congress provides. In 2007, Congress passed the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (VRIPA), prohibiting the federal government from taxing certain benefits provided to volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel by state and local units of government. VRIPA, which was signed into law in December and takes effect for the 2008 tax year, was one of the NVFC’s top legislative priorities.
Appropriations for fiscal year 2008, which also passed in December, brought a second straight year of funding increases for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and SAFER Grant programs, which provide assistance to fire departments for equipment, training, apparatus, and personnel. AFG and SAFER are top priorities for the NVFC every year.
Congressman John Larson (D-CT) spearheaded the effort to pass VRIPA in the House of Representatives, while Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) were original cosponsors of companion legislation in the Senate. CFSI has named Congressman David Price (D-NC) their legislator of the year for his efforts as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Homeland Security in passing funding for various programs that provide financial assistance to the fire and emergency services, including AFG and SAFER.
The NVFC is grateful for the efforts of Congressmen Larson and Price and Senators Dodd and Smith, as well the leadership and members of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, in supporting VRIPA, AFG, SAFER, and other important initiatives benefiting the fire and emergency services. When you meet with your elected officials to ask them to support the NVFC’s legislative priorities, we encourage you to recognize and thank them for their past efforts as well.
Department of Justice Makes More Hometown Heroes PSOB Awards
111 Claims for Benefits Still Pending
As of February 22, the Department of Justice (DoJ) had awarded Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) to 111 families who submitted claims based on the Hometown Heroes Survivors’ Benefits Act. The Act, which passed in 2003, was intended to provide a “presumptive benefit” to the families of public safety officers who die in the line of duty from a heart attack or stroke.
DoJ did not begin making determinations on Hometown Heroes claims until almost four years after it became law, and most of the initial determinations were negative. Over the course of 2007, the NVFC worked with members of Congress and other fire service organizations to call on DoJ to begin making Hometown Heroes awards.
“From the language of the law to the clearly expressed intent of Congress, DoJ should be paying benefits in cases where a public safety officer died from heart attack or stroke within 24 hours of participating in emergency response,” said NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg at a July 11, 2007, press conference on Capitol Hill. “DoJ needs to start making these payments today, and Congress should investigate why three and a half years after passage of the law so few payments have been made and so many denials and pending cases exist.”
In October, DoJ issued two policy memorandums intended to change the determination process for PSOB applications made under the Hometown Heroes Survivor Benefits Act. At the time, 21 claims had been paid, 57 denied and 202 were still pending. As of February 22, 111 families have received a Hometown Heroes benefit, 111 additional claims remain pending, and 79 claims have been denied or withdrawn. Out of those 79 denials, 34 are currently under appeal.
The NVFC continues to monitor this situation and is working to see that every family of a public safety officer who dies in the line of duty receives a benefit. Domingo Herraiz, Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance at DoJ, the office responsible for processing PSOB claims, has been invited to address the NVFC’s Board of Directors at the annual spring meeting in Washington, DC, in April, to provide a Hometown Heroes update.
Calendar of Events
Below is a list of events that the NVFC will be attending, as well as nationally recognized dates which the NVFC would like to acknowledge.
NVFC Spring Meeting
April 2-6
Washington, DC
CFSI Dinner
April 3, 2008
Washington, DC
FDIC
April 7-12, 2008
Indianapolis, IN
Fire Chief’s Station Style Conference
April 26-29, 2008
Phoenix, AZ
Arson Awareness Week
May 4-10
Fire Expo
Harrisburg, PA
May 16-18, 2008
National EMS Week
May 18-24
Firehouse Expo
July 22-27, 2008
Baltimore, MD
Fire-Rescue International
August 14-16, 2008
Denver, CO
National Firefighter Health Week
August 18-22
Support Those Who Support the Voice of the Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services
The NVFC relies on the assistance of its corporate and association partners to be able to provide a voice for the volunteer fire and emergency services in Washington. We encourage you to look at a list of our Corporate Members and support them with your business.
Join the NVFC and support the voice of the volunteer. Find out more and join online at www.nvfc.org.
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